Entrance Row Filmed Leisure has acquired Center East and North African rights for Oscar-winning documentary No Different Land, by Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.
The MENA deal was struck by Elie Touma at Entrance Row and Stephanie Fuchs at Austrian-based gross sales firm Autlook Filmsales, which is overseeing worldwide gross sales.
The announcement comes amid contemporary pushback towards the documentary within the U.S., the place a Miami mayor has been accused of censorship after he threatened to close down an arthouse cinema exhibiting the work.
Shot between 2019 and 2023, No Different Land captures the battle of individuals dwelling within the West Financial institution Palestinian villages of Masafer Yatta within the face of makes an attempt by Israeli authorities and settlers to erase their properties and historical past from the map. Israeli settlers have continued to assault the world for the reason that movie’s Oscar win on March 2.
The documentary follows the journey of Adra as he paperwork the devastation of his hometown, after it’s designated for Israeli army coaching. His efforts to lift consciousness acquire momentum with the help of Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, who amplifies his narrative.
The work world premiered at 2023 Berlinale, the place it gained the Viewers Award and Berlinale Documentary Award, with Abraham sparking controversy after he criticized a “scenario of apartheid” in Israel and known as for a ceasefire in Gaza in his acceptance speech.
Abraham subsequently acquired dying threats and was accused of antisemitism. The journalist and filmmaker, who’s descended from a household that was decimated within the Holocaust, has categorically refuted these accusations.
Since its premiere, No Different Land has gained 68 movie competition and annual award prizes, together with the European Movie Awards, the Boston Society of Movie Critics’ Awards and the Gotham Unbiased Movie Awards.
Nevertheless, the movie was unable to safe a distributor within the U.S., and its Finest Documentary victory class within the 2025 Academy Awards, marked the primary time a documentary had gained an Oscar with no distribution firm connected.
The filmmakers as an alternative opted for a self-distribution in partnership with Cinetic Media, which facilitated theatrical bookings.
The documentary premiered on February 2 on a single display screen, grossing $26,000, and continued to thrive for 4 further weeks, surpassing the $1.2 million mark and increasing to 120 screens.
Entrance Row isn’t any stranger to dealing with difficult movies. Earlier this 12 months, the corporate launched its second Netflix authentic, The Sand Fort, which explored themes of displacement and PTSD below the guise of an atmospheric horror narrative, reaching prime 10 standing on Netflix for 2 weeks in over 77 international locations.
Different latest releases on its slate embrace The Substance, The Apprentice, Emilia Pérez, and The Bibi Information.
Entrance Row additionally has a historical past of working with politically charged movies. It oversaw the primary theatrical launch of a documentary in MENA cinemas with Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, whereas different acquisitions embrace movies reminiscent of 20 Days in Mariupol, Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, and Nadine Labaki’s The place Do We Go Now?.
Gianluca Chakra, CEO of Entrance Row Filmed Leisure, emphasised the importance of presenting No Different Land to MENA audiences.
“In a world full of dominant narratives, it’s important to contemplate various viewpoints. This movie provides a novel perspective, bringing collectively filmmakers united by a simply imaginative and prescient, he stated. “The footage introduced is each putting and unparalleled. We have now an obligation to ensure it reaches audiences. By means of the lens of those filmmakers, the digital camera transforms right into a potent device for fact and resistance, safeguarding the historical past of their village.”
Entrance Row plans to imminently launch the movie theatrically in choose cinemas, adopted by a premium VOD launch throughout the MENA.
